ALERT Act of 2026

Real-time disease monitoring for nursing homes

If enacted, the bill would require the CDC Director to start, within 180 days, a 5-year program to expand the National Healthcare Safety Network for real-time infectious disease surveillance in nursing homes nationwide. The program would let HHS contract with U.S.-based firms (they must keep HITRUST r2 certification and cannot be electronic medical records companies) to build and run the system, integrate with NHSN, and notify federal, State, and local health officials immediately. Contract recipients would be treated as HIPAA covered entities and must follow federal privacy and security rules, and data generally could not be used for regulatory enforcement unless a law allows it. The program would optionally support a staffed care management program for skilled nursing facilities, require a study and report to Congress at the end of the 5 years, and Congress could appropriate such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2027 through 2031. The bill would also expand authority to support NHSN technology adoption to detect outbreaks and coordinate public health responses.